A plan like this, involving tens of millions of dollars, should have been carefully prepared.

The governor and his hand-picked study group have devised a significantly uncertain health insurance scheme. While the intent of the plan was laudable, the governor chose to forge experimental new ground rather than implement tried and tested reforms that are working in other states.

I am among the many who do not expect success from his experiment which aims to provide everyone in Maine with health care insurance of some type.

Going from an unsteady start to a mad rush at the end, Dirigo presented a case study of inadequate policy development. The hurried, almost daily concessions granted in closed-door negotiations with special interests, the unwillingness to take the time to consider meaningful alternatives, and the rushed voting at the end of the term testifies to the desire for a political advantage rather than practicing good government.

The voices of those all over the state who said, ” Too fast, take your time and do it well ” were ignored.

I served on the joint select committee that was charged with coming forward with this measure. It became abundantly clear that the majority party was going to have its way and it was going to pass something before the June recess. It also seemed important that a “bipartisan unanimous committee report” be announced.

Most of the Republicans on the committee gave the party that cooperation if it would concede to some changes that improved the bill compared to what it would have been otherwise.

However, the Dirigo plan was enacted with only actuarial projections that have proved in the past to be woefully underestimated when people who never had health insurance suddenly have it and begin to request services.

Dirigo has no real answers on total costs that could have been estimated from a pilot program, a market test or a survey of any type.

A plan like this involving tens of millions of dollars should have been carefully prepared.

Dirigo was enacted with no idea how many individuals will use it, how many businesses of 50 employees or less will sign up for it, how many insurers will offer it, or how many providers will participate. It is completely voluntary.

The fee schedule for doctors is not known, and is to be “negotiated.”

The actual cost of a health insurance policy is not known.

What is known is:

1) that our Medicaid population will be expanded with its ongoing cost; and

2) the taxpayers of Maine will be responsible for the cost of failure of the plan.

Some providers have seen this as the last straw and are leaving the state. Other talented physicians being recruited are now finding Maine unattractive for opening a practice.

This plan guarantees that the premium cost of our health insurance is going to increase due to a 4 percent tax on premiums, called a savings offset, which will be assessed on insurers, who will then pass it along to policy holders.

This was sold to insurers as a means of covering the amount of hospital bills that represent the cost of bad debt and charity care, so the hospitals will be expected to reduce their charges by 4 percent in the future. The assumption is that those who are now receiving free care without the means to pay will be willing to pay monthly premiums for insurance.

Controls on spending in the governor’s plan are almost non-existent, traded away in negotiations with special interest groups. There is nothing to stop any person’s demand for unnecessary or excessive services.

The hospitals fought off a cap on spending, and at the same time persuaded the planners that doctors’ offices should come under a difficult and expensive certificate-of-need process, further reducing competition and increasing costs.

The Dirigo plan has too many unknowns and inaccurate assumptions. It is a shame that $53 million of federal relief funds are likely to be wasted on this dubious scheme this year.

We could have avoided this by taking the time and making the commitment to develop a workable plan. Instead, real reform will be put off while time and dollars are squandered on what could become known as the Dirigo Debacle.

Rep. Thomas F. Shields of Auburn is the ranking minority member of the Health and Human Services Committee.

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